The Planets in Our Solar System

Mercury has a tenuous atmosphere, so, despite being
the planet closest to the Sun, it is unable to retain the heat it is
exposed to. The temperature ranges by a few hundred degrees Celsius each
Mercurian day.

Venus has a thick atmosphere and an average surface
temperature of 460 degrees Celsius. If you were standing on Venus, you
would choke on the high amounts of carbon dioxide as your skin dissolved
in the sulfuric acid rain.

Earth Our home planet .

Mars is perhaps the most studied planet besides
Earth. It has a nearly nonexistent atmosphere, so it is a cold world.
Temperatures are about -140 Celsius in the winter. At the height of
summer you could not comfortably wear shorts.

Jupiter is 2.5 times as massive as all of the other
planets in the Solar System combined. Jupiter has 63 recognized moons,
but more are thought to be in orbit. That accounts for about 1/3 of the
moons in our Solar System.

Saturn is a contradiction. It is the second largest
planet, yet it has a very low density. It would float if you had enough
water to put it in. There are 60 acknowledged moons orbiting Saturn.

Uranus is tilted like crazy. All planets are slightly tilted on their axis, but Uranus is tilting at 98 degrees.

Neptune, is last, but not least. It orbits an
average of 4.5 billion km from the Sun. It was discovered in 1846,
making it the most recent recognized planet to be discovered.

Birth of the Solar System

Why Pluto is No Longer a Planet ?

What Is a Planet Today?

According to the new definition, a full-fledged planet is an object that
orbits the sun and is large enough to have become round due to the
force of its own gravity. In addition, a planet has to dominate the
neighborhood around its orbit.

Pluto has been demoted because it does not dominate its neighborhood.
Charon, its large "moon," is only about half the size of Pluto, while
all the true planets are far larger than their moons.

In addition, bodies that dominate their neighborhoods, "sweep up"
asteroids, comets, and other debris, clearing a path along their orbits.
By contrast, Pluto's orbit is somewhat untidy.

Neptune is the smallest of the four gas giants in our Solar System.
Much like Saturn and Uranus, Neptune's atmosphere contains hydrogen,
helium and methane.

Neptune is a very windy place. No other planet in the Solar System has
winds that are as strong as Neptune's. The winds near the Great Dark
Spot were believed to have reached nearly 1,200 miles per hour .

Neptune has six rings which circle the planet. These rings are believed
to be fairly new. The rings are more irregular than the rings of other
planets.

Neptune has 13 moons that we know of. Because
Neptune is so far away, it is difficult to see any of these worlds.
There are probably many more moons orbiting this blue planet which we
have not yet discovered. Perhaps you will be the astronomer who
discovers some of these worlds.

It would take you many years to fly a rocket to Uranus . Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is a gas giant.
But Uranus is a little different. Unlike all the other planets and most
of the moons in our Solar System, Uranus spins on its side. It is
believed that long ago a very large object smashed into this planet.
The crash was so powerful that it completely changed the direction of
Uranus' planetary rotation.

The thick atmosphere of Uranus is made up of methane, hydrogen and
helium. But Uranus is an extremely cold planet. It has been called the
"ice giant." It is believed that Uranus is made up of rock and ice and
has a large rocky core. Because of the tremendous planetary pressure
of Uranus, there could possibly be trillions of large diamonds in or on
the surface of this planet.

Uranus also has rings, though they don't stretch
out as far as the rings of Saturn. The rings of Uranus are made up of
black dust particles and large rocks.

Uranus has 27 moons. Five of these moons are large and the rest are smaller.

Saturn is similar to Jupiter, but it is much
smaller. It is the second largest planet in our Solar System and it is a
gas giant like Jupiter. Under the clouds of methane, hydrogen and
helium, the sky gradually turns into liquid until it becomes a giant
ocean of liquid chemicals.

Saturn
is the least dense planet in our Solar System. It is made up of mostly
hydrogen and helium, which are the two lightest elements in the
universe and thus make Saturn the lightest planet that we know of. This
is why you wouldn't weigh as much on Saturn as you think you would
because of its size. And because Saturn is so light, it does not have
as much gravity.

Jupiter is by far the largest planet in our Solar System. The Earth could fit inside Jupiter more than 1000 times.

Jupiter
is a very stormy planet. There are storms found throughout the
atmosphere, and most of the storms seem to never end. The many
different cloud formations and storms in the atmosphere also make
Jupiter a very colorful planet.

Jupiter's great red spot, visible in the picture above to the right, is
where a giant storm has been raging for at least 300 years. This red
spot is also called "The Eye of Jupiter" because of its shape.

Mars excites scientists because its mild
temperament is more like the Earth's than any of the other planets.
Evidence suggests that Mars once had rivers, streams, lakes, and even an
ocean. As Mars' atmosphere slowly depleted into outer space, the
surface water began to permanently evaporate. Today the only water on
Mars in either frozen in the polar caps or underground.
You may sometimes hear Mars referred to as the "Red
Planet." This is because the surface of Mars is red. If you stood on
the surface of Mars, you would see red dirt and rocks everywhere.

09 October 2012

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and largest of the terrestrial
planets. Suprisingly, while it is only the fifth largest planet in terms
of size and mass. Regarding its name, Earth is the only planet not
named after a mythological being. Instead, its name is derived from the
Old English word "ertha," which means ground.

Venus

As the third brightest object in Earth's sky after the Sun and moon. It is often remarked that Venus and Earth are twin planets due to their
similarity in size, density, mass, and volume. Though these planetary
characteristics are relatively the same, Venus and Earth are still
substantially different in many other ways (e.g., atmosphere, rotation,
surface temperatures, and Venus' lacking a moon).

Our solar neighborhood is an exciting place. The Solar System is full of
planets, moons, asteroids, comets, minor planets, and many other
exciting objects. Learn about Io, the explosive moon that orbits the
planet Jupiter, or explore the gigantic canyons and deserts on Mars.

What Is The Solar System?

The Solar System
is made up of all the planets that orbit our Sun. In addition to
planets, the Solar System also consists of moons, comets, asteroids,
minor planets, and dust and gas.

Everything in the Solar System
orbits or revolves around the Sun. The Sun contains around 98% of all
the material in the Solar System. The larger an object is, the more
gravity it has. Because the Sun is so large, its powerful gravity
attracts all the other objects in the Solar System towards it. At the
same time, these objects, which are moving very rapidly, try to fly away
from the Sun, outward into the emptiness of outer space. The result of
the planets trying to fly away, at the same time that the Sun is trying
to pull them inward is that they become trapped half-way in between.
Balanced between flying towards the Sun, and escaping into space, they
spend eternity orbiting around their parent star.

Mercury has a tenuous atmosphere, so, despite being the planet closest to the Sun, it is unable to retain the heat it is exposed to. The...

What Is The Solar System?

Our solar neighborhood is an exciting place. The Solar System is full of planets, moons, asteroids, comets, minor planets, and many other exciting objects. Learn about It.

The Solar System is made up of all the planets that orbit our Sun. In addition to planets, the Solar System also consists of moons, comets, asteroids, minor planets, and dust and gas.

Everything in the Solar System orbits or revolves around the Sun. The Sun contains around 98% of all the material in the Solar System. The larger an object is, the more gravity it has. Because the Sun is so large, its powerful gravity attracts all the other objects in the Solar System towards it. At the same time, these objects, which are moving very rapidly, try to fly away from the Sun, outward into the emptiness of outer space. The result of the planets trying to fly away, at the same time that the Sun is trying to pull them inward is that they become trapped half-way in between. Balanced between flying towards the Sun, and escaping into space, they spend eternity orbiting around their parent star.